Street letter-box.



No. 705,957. Patented 1u|y 29, |7902. F. n. osonn.

STREET LETTER BOX.

(Application filed Feb. 5, 1902.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

E i Ul @wi/hmmm@ M j @4mm N0. 705,957. Patented July 29, |902. F. D. OSBORN.

STREET LETTER BOX.

(Application led Feb. 5, 1902.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK `D. OSBORN, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA,.ASSIGNOR OF VONE-HALF TO ALEXANDER C. MAOPHERSON, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

STREET LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 705,957, dated July 29, 1902. Application filed February 5,1902. serial No'. 92,662'. momma.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK D. OsBoRN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Birmingham, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Street Letter-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

A general object of my invention Yis to provide an improved street letter-box or thelike adapted to receive beneath a protecting glass plate a card bearing the listof the hours for the collection of mail and other desired information. l

Another general object is to provide means whereby without losing the element of security the collector of mail-matter may know at a glance and without opening it Whether the box contains any mailmatter. More specifically, the invention involves inserting and re-v moving the card only when the box is open, complete protection of the card and the interior of the box from rain, means whereby the breaking of the card-protecting glass gives no access to the box, and an inexpensive construction applicable to any ordinary form ofI box and not such as to diminish the security aorded by boxes now in use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a View of the front plate or wall of a box involving my improvements. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same plate. Figs. 3,4 are sections on the lines 3 8 4 4, respectively, of Fig. l. Figs. 5, 6 are views similiar to Figs. l, 8, respectively, showing a modified construction.

In Figs. l, 2, 3, 4, A designates one wall of a mail-box, which will be described as of sheet-steel, although a closely analogous box may be made of cast metal. The central portion of this plate is out along a line B and forced inward parallel to its original position to form a sunken panel C, continuonswith the non-sunken portion, except along the upper edge, whichis offset, so as to leave an upwardly-open passage D. The central partof the upper portion of the panel is cut away at E, and the lower central portion is cutaway to form an opening E', Fig. 2, and the edges of the metal are preferably formed into afor1 wardlyextending rib F about the margin of the latter opening.

A thick plate G, of glass, is placed in the recess formed by sinking the panel, the rib F holding it out of contact with the latter, thus forming between the panel and the glass a pocket to receive the card H, which is of inverted-U shape and is held in vertical and lateral adjustment by the rib F and is readily removedY by pressing the finger against it in the notch E. ITo hold the glass from moving forward and to cover the joint along its margins, a framez I, of tough metal, is secured upon the face of the plate A by any suitable meansfor example, by bolts J passing through the frame and the walland secured by nuts J within the box. The frameis provided with an integral grating registering with the opening E in the sunken panel, and preferably all those portions of frame lying directly over the glass extend inward and rest against the latter, holding it against the rib F.

In putting the frame in place its rear face is preferably heavily coated with red lead or the like to render the joint permanently moisture-proof.

The opening E/ allows the postman to see whether the box contains letters or the like and the grating prevents abstraction of the contents of the box should the glass be broken and also serves to protect the glass from ac` cidental blows. To prevent sliding the glass upward without breaking it, the margin of the plate is turned inward at K along the up-5 per edge of the glass, but not far enough to project beyond the glass, and thus obstruct the insertion and removal of the card.

The frame I may be of malleable iron; but it, like the wall A, is preferably stamped from a sheet-steel plate.

Certain advantages of my invention may be obtained by the construction shown in Figs. 6, where no opening is made in the lower portion of the panel and where the frame I is not provided with the grating.

In other respects thelconstruction is similar to that of the principal form, and hence it need not be described in detail.

l. In a letter-box of the class described, the u combination with a box-wall having a sunken. panel with the upper connecting offset portion cut through to form a narrow slot for the insertion of a card, a transparent plate fitting the panel-recess in front of the slot, and a metal frame covering the joint between the plate and the surrounding wall, and devices, releasable only on the inner side of said wall, detachably securing said frame to said wall.

2. In a letter-box of the class described, the combination with the box-wall having an integral sunken panel of which a portion is removed leaving an opening through the wall and further having a narrow card-admitting slot through the upper offset portion connecting the panel and non-sunken wall, a transparent plate fitting the panel-recess in front of the plane of said slot, a frame covering the joint between the plate and the wall surrounding it and provided with an integral grating in front of said opening, and devices, releasable only from theinner side of the wall, detachably fixing the frame to the wall.

3. In a letter-box of the class described, the combination with the box-wall having the partially-cut-away sunken panel provided with the outwardly-extendin g rib around the opening formed by such cutting away and further having along one side of the panel a slot eX- tending through the offset formed by sinking the panel, of a glass plate overlying the panel and resting against said rib, and the frame having the integral grating covering said opening and secured to the wall to cover the margins of the glass and hold it against said rib, substantially as set forth.

4. In a letter-box of the class described, the combination with the box-wall having an integral sunken panel provided with an opening through its lower central portion and with an outwardly-extending rib around said opening, and further having a narrow slot through the `upper offset formed in sinking the panel, a transparent plate fitting the panel-recess and held in front of the plane of said slot by said rib, a metal frame covering the joint between said plate and the surrounding wall and provided with a grating and integrally connected at top and bottom with said frame, and devices releasable only from the inner side of the wall, detachably fixing said frame to said wall. Y

-5. In a letter-box, the combination with a box-wall pressed inward to form a sunken panel and havin g the upper offset slotted from end to end to admit sliding a card downward along the outer face of the panel, said panel being cut away centrally at its upper side to allow the nger to raise the card and cut away centrally below, to form a sight-opening, and provided with an outwardly-extending flange around the margin of the opening, a transparent vplate fitting the panel-recess and resting against said flange, and a metal frame covering the joint between the plate and the surrounding wall and provided with a grating registering with said opening and integrally connected at top and bottom with said frame.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK D. OSBORN.

Witnesses:

HENRY R. DILL, VAssAR L. ALLEN. 

